The new 'Tomb Raider' game is out Tuesday — check out how far its star, Lara Croft, has come since her 1996 debut

After 22 years of evolution, just who is Lara Croft?
Eidos Montreal/Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix

After the release of the first "Tomb Raider" in 1996, Lara Croft's rise as a poster child for video games was perhaps both unstoppable and inevitable.

Croft's blend of sex appeal and gunslinger action-hero attitude spoke directly to a generation of gamers eager to prove that their hobby wasn't just for kids. With pre-rendered cut scenes, voice acting, and no shortage of violence, "Tomb Raider" was one of the first video game franchises to maintain a mature, cinematic aesthetic that continues to serve as an influence for countless action games.

But tastes have changed since the '90s, and with more female gamers has come a new look for the series.

The newest game in the franchise, "Shadow of the Tomb Raider," comes out for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on Tuesday. Here's how Croft and "Tomb Raider" have evolved over the decades since her grand debut.

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"Tomb Raider" (1996) — Lara Croft's first appearance

"Tomb Raider Gold," a version of the original game with some of its downloadable content built in.
Amazon

The success of the original "Tomb Raider" in 1996 can be credited to the fact that it really showed off the power of the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn consoles, which were released worldwide just a year earlier.

Lara and her environment were rendered in full 3D with an orchestrated score, helping create an atmosphere way beyond what was possible with earlier technology.

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"Tomb Raider" (1996)

The graphics of "Tomb Raider" were once considered revolutionary.
Tomb Raider/Eidos Interactive

Still, the gameplay of the early "Tomb Raider" games remained heavily influenced by the platforming of the 16-bit gaming era, the gaming genre ruled by Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. Lara was always more focused on solving puzzles and avoiding pitfalls than blasting her way through the enemies she met in the ancient ruins.

The game got a sequel in each of the next four years, with "Tomb Raider II" dropping in 1997, "Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft" releasing in 1998, "Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation" coming out in 1999, and "Tomb Raider Chronicles" following in 2000. Lara's look didn't change much over that time — the graphics got a little sharper, but Lara stayed the same.

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"Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001) starring Angelina Jolie

Jolie as the title character in "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider."
Paramount Pictures

As the franchise became a smash hit, production for a "Tomb Raider" film began as early as 1998, with Angelina Jolie eventually being chosen to play the title role. Despite Jolie's own mega-celebrity status, some fans of the game suggested that she still couldn't compare to the video game heroine. Regardless, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" was released in 2001 and earned more than $270 million worldwide at the box office (about $380 million today) on a budget of $115 million.

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"Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness" (2003) — A misstep for the franchise

"Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness" was the last game in the series made by original developers, Core Design.
"Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness"/Eidos Interactive

Released in June 2003, "Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness" was the sixth game in the main "Tomb Raider" series, and it marked Lara's first appearance on the PlayStation 2.

By 2003, the aesthetics that had set the "Tomb Raider" franchise apart from other series had become fairly commonplace, and cut scenes and cinematic action had become par for the course.

Despite the efforts of a new design team, and a new look for Lara Croft, "Angel of Darkness" failed to have the narrative or visual impact of the previous "Tomb Raider" titles, even with several portions of the game taking place in urban environments. The gameplay also suffered in the transition to the new console, with the developer Core Design struggling to implement numerous ambitious ideas.

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"Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness" (2003)

Critics laid into "Angel of Darkness" for hollow and incomplete gameplay elements as well as outright glitches and bugs in the game. One month later, the film "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" was released to similarly poor reviews, though it was financially successful. With her career on the rise, Jolie opted not to reprise her role as Lara for a third time.

"Tomb Raider: Legend" (2006) — Lara goes back to basics

In the wake of the "Angel of Darkness" disappointment, the publisher Eidos Interactive decided to turn the franchise over to a new developer, Crystal Dynamics.

Best known for the fan-favorite "Legacy of Kain" series, Crystal Dynamics brought the series back to its roots with more puzzles and exploration and revamped the control scheme to meet modern standards. At the same time, Eidos shifted its aggressive marketing practices to focus less on Lara's sex appeal.

"Tomb Raider: Legend" (2006)

The Crystal Dynamics team delivered three Tomb Raider games from 2006 to 2008: "Tomb Raider: Legend," "Tomb Raider: Anniversary" (a remake of the original), and "Tomb Raider: Underworld."

Those games helped restore the reputation of the series and took steps toward creating a more sustainable image of Lara as a character. While she was still featured in her signature shorts and crop top, her figure was adjusted to better match the proportions of real women, and she was given more of a personality.

Eidos was acquired by Square Enix in 2009, and in December 2010 it was announced that another "Tomb Raider" reboot from Crystal Dynamics was in the works.

2013's "Tomb Raider" brought the series back to square one, introducing a new generation of gamers to a young Lara Croft on her first adventure.

Along with the familiar exploration and puzzle gameplay elements of, the reboot placed a strong emphasis on Lara's survival instincts, and the story focuses on how the harsh remote island environment helps Lara evolve from a survivor into a warrior.

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"Tomb Raider" (2013)

The reboot arrived with all the fixings of a modern triple-A action title, investing heavily in cinematic storytelling and providing a full island to traverse and explore, rather than a series of cramped tombs. With the shift toward more action, the game focused largely on combat, giving Lara dozens of ways to dispose of her enemies, both stealthy and ... not.

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"Tomb Raider" (2018) — Alicia Vikander stars in the rebooted film

The "Tomb Raider" film reboot borrows heavily from the 2013 game, including the use of Lara's signature bow and climbing ax.
Warner Bros.

While the original Lara Croft seemed ineffable throughout her adventures, the rebooted Lara is younger, more fragile, and considerably more relatable.

Her confidence does falter and her physical strength occasionally fails her, but it makes the character feel more real in a medium in which players are often made to feel invincible. Lara's rebooted design was well-received enough to fuel a new "Tomb Raider" movie in 2018.

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"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" (2018) — Lara is still a survivor

Shadow of the Tomb Raider/Square Enix

With "Shadow of the Tomb Raider," which will be on physical and digital store shelves by the time you read this, Eidos Montreal closes out the trilogy of the latest reboot by diving deep into the mind of Lara Croft.

With Lara forced to survive in the jungles of South America, the game helps bridge the gap between the vulnerable, inexperienced Lara Croft seen in the 2013 "Tomb Raider" reboot and the globe-trotting adventurer who debuted all those years ago in 1996.